roosevelt high yield -- hired joe kennedy that since he had been a wall street regulator he would be a great person to catch speculators. it takes all kinds. host: what will it take for the spiro to be successful? does it need to get ahead nominee confirmed? -- what will it take for this bureau to be successful? guest: i think definitely getting a nominee confirmed would be as stark. that is definitely a defined goal of the obama administration. beyond that, i think an unspoken goal in my conversations with them is to make sure that there are not repeated assaults on the agency in an attempt to repeal it, to send it back to where we were before dodd/frank. host: carter dougherty thank you for joining us this morning. we will go to the floor of the

house of representatives. it is just getting under way. we will be watching the vote on the cut, cap, and balance republican-like bill. we're looking at that rupert murdoch testimony happening in the uk. see you tomorrow morning at 7:00. between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes each, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge, for five minutes. ms. fudge: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to address bills pending on -- who were already signed into law in 45 states that will disenfranchise voters. these bills will prohibit address changes at the polls, end volunteer run voter registration drives, end

same-day voter registration and limit absentee voters to cap their ballot. photo identification requirements, just this month the ohio state legislature passed and the governor signed into law one of the most draconian voter measures in the nation. ohio's house bill 194 invalidates a vote where a voter properly marks the ballot in support of a particular candidate but also writes in the same of that candidate. these bills dramatically reduce the time required for early voting and eliminates the requirement that poll workers direct voters to the correct precinct. these new policies are a clear attempt to prevent certain predetermined segments of the population from exercising their right to vote. to be frank, mr. speaker, these efforts have an all-too familiar stench of the jim crow era.

the bill pending in my state are the work of covert opportunityists seeking to disenfranchise and suppress the rice of american citizens. i'm here today to tell you that we will not relinquish our constitutional rights and we plan to uphold the franchise all of us fought and died to protect. we will not lay down. mr. speaker, i yield to my friend from north carolina, mr. g.k. butterfield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. butterfield: let me thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time. mr. speaker, across the country, republican-led legislatures are passing laws that will suppress minority and elderly voters in the coming election under the guise of eliminating voter fraud, republicans have a solution to a problem that simply does not exist. in my home state of north carolina where the republican legislature is attempting to require voter i.d. at the polls, there were only 44 cases of voter fraud in the 2008 and 2010 elections combined. 44 cases out of over seven

million ballots cast. is this a serious voter problem? no. unfortunately it is a cynical and malicious republican attempt to suppress minority and elderly voters who turn out in historical numbers for the 2008 elections. almost one-fourth of african-american age voting citizens and one-fourth seniors do not have a government-issued i.d. this is a poll tax. we must inform our constituents that their fundamental right in a democracy is being infringed and fight back against this voter suppression epidemic. thank you and i yield back. ms. fudge: thank you. i yield now to my good friend, the congresslady from florida, corrine brown. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida is recognized. ms. brown: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to address the house and to revise and extend my remarks. all across the country we are witnessing efforts to suppress

minority voting rights. how has this been doing? by deterring minority voters from registering to vote and some going to the poll. an organized effort to turn back the clock back to the period prior to 1965 voting rights act. i am from florida. in my state our governor, rick scott, is doing everything he can to follow in the steps of what is occurring across the country, to stamp out the gains we worked so hard for and worked many, many years to achieve. governor scott signed the election bill which takes away many of the florida voters' basic rights. it includes numerous hideous items, much like that in the bills' past and other state legislations around the nation to keep african-americans and hispanics from going to the polls or refrain from participating in early voting in the upcoming 2012 election.

the new laws passed in florida would make voting more difficult for people who have recently changed residence as well as shorter early voting time from 14 days to six days. it will provide 100 feet -- it goes on and on and on. in addition, it imposes a $50 fine on election supervisors who are late in filing routine reports to the state. you know, after what happened in florida in the 2000 coup d'etat, it's amazing to me that florida would pass such hideous laws. i think it's very important that the justice department weigh in and that the people in florida are not disenfranchised. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from ohio's time has expired.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lance, for five minutes. mr. lance: thank you, mr. speaker. as our nation's debt now approaches its current $14.29 trillion limit, many americans rightfully ask how did this happen. in the past decade alone congress has authorized an increase in the debt 10 times. when republicans have controlled the white house and congress it was republicans who voted for it. when democrats have controlled the white house and congress, it was democrats who voted for it. the federal government has only managed to balance its budget five times in the last 50 years. most recently with president clinton, a democrat, and a republican control in the house of representatives. washington now borrows approximately 40% of every dollar it spends. foreign investors hold half of our nation's $14 trillion debt. not only from china but from great britain, saudi arabia and

other places as well. admiral mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff have called the national can he tell the single biggest threat to our national security. and for the first time in modern history last year's congress passed no budget, no fundamental blueprint for federal spending and no final decision on spending levels through the appropriations process for the entire fiscal year. we've been operating under a series of continuing resolutions which has led to uncertainty as to federal levels of spending and as to tax rates which in turn has led to a lack of hiring in the private sector with an unemployment rate of 9.2% which in turn has led to less revenues in federal coffers, a vicious cycle that cannot continue. any agreement to president obama's request to increase our borrowing limit should include a real plan to bring our fiscal

house in order and reduce the nation's unsustainably high levels of federal spending, of debt and deficits. this should include substantial reductions in current spending, at least $100 billion, in fiscal year 2012. limiting federal expenditures to a certain percentage of gross domestic product, the historic norm has been 20% over the last generation. tragically we are now at 24%. and safeguards that will restrict future spending such as a balanced budget amendment which is contained in 49 of our 50 states. also, we must put partisanship aside and include reforms to save social security, medicare and medicaid. if we do nothing, for example, regarding medicare in the president's budget, in the winter, did nothing. the program will begin to go bankrupt in 2024, 13 years from now. that is simply unsustainable and unacceptable.

when i was a boy and a young man the fundamental issue confronting the nation was the threat of the soviet union and international communism. the focus of evil in the modern world, as president reagan said. the fundamental issue confronting the nation in the 21st century is fiscal responsibility. will our children live in a diminished america? will the promise of a america that each generation will do better than the generation before continue to exist? will we continue to lead the world or will the leadership pass to china or india or to some other place? this is the great issue confronting the people of the united states, and it's the great issue confronting us here in congress as well. let's get our fiscal house in order. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes.

mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, an american president once wrote a letter to the senate majority leader urging him to raise the debt ceiling. the president wrote, "the consequences of a serious prospect of default for the united states is impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate. denegation of the full credit of the united states would have substantial impact on the domestic financial markets and on the value of the dollar in exchange markets." that president's name was ronald reagan and the year was 1983. he closes under the senate majority leader howard baker saying, the risks, the costs, the incalculable damage leads me to one conclusion, the congress must pass this legislation before congress adjourns. watching the house floor 28 years later, he could be forgiven for being surprised reagan would ever say such a thing.

that's because the reagan who gets referenced on the floor here is a myth while the reagan who wrote to howard a bigger urging pragmatism was a man. the real ronald reagan once said, all of us have grown up accepting with little question certain images as accurate portraits of living figures, some living, some dead. seldom if ever do we ask if the images is true as the original. in the year of his 100th birthday, the great communicator might be amazed at how far his own image has shifted from the original. he'd see his most dedicated followers using his name as justification for saying no to hong our debts. he'd see his legacy use to playing chicken with the world's greatest economic engine. but as reagan often quoted john adams, facts are stubborn things. the facts are these -- president reagan raised the debt ceiling 18 times. he recognized the danger of

economic brinkmanship. president reagan took responsibility in the deep tax cuts of 1981 didn't produce the promised revenue. he worked with both sides of the aisle to find a more sustainable balance. he worked with tip o'neill to shore up social security. he worked with my predecessor, dan, to reform the tax code and eliminate tax loopholes. all of these l.a.x.s will be condemned as tax increases as the purists who follow the image instead of the man. image worshiped is a bipartisan disease. but we all do ourselves and our nation a disservice by distorting passed images to justify present policy. as another president, john f. kennedy, once put it, the greatest enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest. but the myth, persistent,

persuasive and unrealistic. to say i disagree with president reagan on a number of issues is an understatement but the more i get to know the myth the more i get to like the man. president reagans was not a picture on the wall. he was president of the united states for two terms in office and did his best to fulfill his sworn obligations. we in congress would do well to follow his lead and focus on what we can do during our short term in office. let's truly follow president reagan's example and govern for the future, not a past that never existed. instead of talking to portraits, let's talk to each other. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois yields back his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jones, for five minutes. mr. jones: mr. speaker, i am once again on the floor of the house with a picture of children who have lost a loved one in afghanistan. ethan and stephanie, bowing here at arlington cemetery,

lost their father on may 12 of this year. the sergeant, who was stationed at camp lejeune marine base, and another was sent with the mission to train afghan citizens to become police. the men had just sat down to dinner when a rogue trainee opened fire killing both men. in an email to his wife the day before he died, the sergeant said, and i quote, i don't trust them. i don't trust them for anything, not anything at all. this brings me to a quote from a.c. snow's recent column tiled "time to bring them home: let them live." mr. snow is a well-known correspondent in north carolina. and i quote, it seems we never run out of wars. it is as if one small country after another sends out a

grave's invitation reading, we're having a war, please come. and uncle sam borrows millions to offer freedom our nation building. mr. speaker, i go back to the two little girls in this picture. how many more children will be at the grave site of a loved one? how many more have to known the pain of war? i further quote from a.c. snow's article and he quoted in his writing les miserables. and i quote. he's only a boy. you can take, you can give, let him be, let him live, bring him home, bring him home. it's way past time playing politics with the youth. bring hem home. let them live. not just 30,000 but all of them. i depre with mr. snow and many others across this nation who are calling for our troops to come home.

bin laden is dead and there are fewer than 30 al qaeda remaining in afghanistan, according to intelligence reports. . we have done our job. we have won. it is time to bring them home. the reason i cot come to the floor is because of a statement the former secretary of defense said. i quote mr. gates, that is why we believe that beginning in fiscal year 2015 the united states can with minimal risk reduce an army active duty in strength by 27,000 and marine corps by somewhere between 15,000 to 20,000. these projections assume the number of troops in afghanistan would be significantly reduced by the end of 2014 in accordance with the present strategy. i share this because i believe we are still in a black hole even with the president withdrawing 10,000 troops this year. let's not wait until 2014 or

2015. let's not bring any more pain to our military families. our job is done. let's bring them home. mr. speaker, before closing one more time the faces of these little girls is the face of pain of a daddy they will never grow up to know. it is time to bring them home, mr. speaker. it is time to bring them home. on behalf of all the children across this country who lost loved ones, may god bless you and your families. may god bless our men and women in uniform. and may god continue to bless america. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina yields back his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. rangel, for five minutes. mr. rangel: thank you. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel: thank you. my colleagues, as we go home to our districts, i'm certain that no constituent has said they wake up in the morning wondering about what we are going to do with the debt ceiling.

in my district most wonder how they are going to get a job. how are they going to take care of their families? so many of americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. they didn't commit any wrongdoing. they lost their savings, many are homeless. they lost their self-esteem. they have lost their health benefits. and they are looking towards this congress to kind of put america on the right track. restore the middle class that made us such a great and successful nation. instead of talking about jobs, we find ourselves putting the president in hostage by saying, unlike other presidents, we are not going to increase the debt ceiling. well, this is a technical way of saying that we owe $14.3 trillion. to people that we borrowed from for unnecessary wars, for tax

cuts that shouldn't have been there, and a variety of things that unemployed people throughout the united states are just not responsible for. instead of talking about jobs, they will tell you we have to cut spending. and so the people that lost their jobs, they lose their medicaid. those who are poor enough to be eligible for it. the older people that soon will be or are entitled to medicare and the hospitals and the doctors and the nurses, and of course social security that so many millions of americans come to depend on. cutting these benefits are not just cutting benefits for the vulnerable, but we are cutting jobs. you can't cut benefits without cutting hospital workers, without cutting off nurses and doctors and those that provide the services for the vulnerable. is this the only way we can go? of course not. pastors and rabbis and imans all

over the country ask why are you picking just on the vulnerable? why are you picking on the sick, poor, and aged? is there another way we can solve this problem? you bet your life there is. because just as in biblical days we have among us those that god has blessed with riches that our parents and grandparents never thought could be accumulated. are we asking them to pay just a little bit to ease the pain for those that are vulnerable? i don't know about you, but our pastors and rabbis have spoken out. for those of you who don't have pastors, who don't have rabbis, who don't have time to listen to our obligation morally, to the people that can't speak for themselves, the people who have no lobbyists, i ask unanimous consent to put into the record what 4,000 pastors have said is

not just a legal and political obligation, but more important, our moral obligation. i ask unanimous consent that this goes into the record so that as we come back and try to decide what is our responsibility, some people have come to this congress with a commitment not to raise taxes no matter what. whether we are the revenues are coming from unseen tax offenses, whether the tax code could be improved. for those of you who remember kamikaze pilots, these were people who were prepared to lose their own lives in fighting our forces during world war ii even if it meant they were destroying somebody. there are people here that are prepared to destroy the fiscal reputation of the united states

of america so that they can go back home and said they fulfilled their commitment about not raising revenues and about slashing and cutting those people that made this great country the great country that it is. so i see on television no one talking about the poor, but thank god we do have ministers, priests, rabbis, imans, and all the religions and people that have come together, most of whom from foreign lands to say, this land is my land. and this country a poor person can make it and we never, never, never will forget where we have come from. some people have managed to get out of poverty. others have enjoyed the middle class. let's hope that our kids and grandkids will be able to do the right thing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

the gentleman's insertion will be included in the record without objection. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri, mr. long, for five minutes. mr. long: thank you, mr. speaker. our debt ceiling is currently $14.3 trillion. more than $45,000 for every american man, woman, and child. by the end of the year our debt will be larger than the size of our entire economy. a significant amount of that owed to foreign countries. oddly enough even though we are driving faster and faster towards the cliff, instead of slowing down president obama's hitting the gas. after president bush's second term the national debt was $10 trillion. this was acued over 43 presidents. in just 2 1/2 years, president obama has managed to increase our federal deficit by over $4.3 trillion. 40% since he was sworn into office january 20 of 2009. let me say that again.

in two years our government has borrowed nearly 40% of the debt it took 200 years to accumulate. there is no word in the english language for this kind of recklessness. at the turn of the 20th century, the federal government consumed about 6% to 8% of gross domestic product. back then america became the greatest industrial power and the wealthiest economy in the history of the world. when the federal government spent just between 6% or 8% of g.d.p. today the federal government spends no less than 25% of g.d.p. and on top of that the rest of the government, state, and local spends even more. total around 40% of g.d.p. is consumed by government at all levels. we have got -- what have we gotten for this unprecedented level of federal spending? our infrastructure is crumbling, our economy is weak, and jobs are not being created. if government spending stimulated anything, then business should be booming.

it turns out the only thing stimulating going on is the debt. and despite all that, despite common sense, the president is asking for even more credit. the president wants us to trust the government will live within its means this time. give a blank check to the government makes as much sense as investing with bernie madoff. democratic leaders think they can continue to spend as much money as they want whenever they want to. they are upset that republicans are making a big deal about the debt ceiling increase because they want to be able to spend taxpayer dollars without ever having to check or balance to ask if that spending is necessary. enough is enough. it's time to end this irresponsible spending. families in southwest missouri cannot spend 42% more than they take in and neither should the federal government. i came to washington to stop spending and abuse of government. that's why i'll fight this debt

ceiling increase without a serious plan to reduce our debt. and the people of southwest missouri agree with me. i have hundreds of phone calls and emails and messages in my office about the debt ceiling. it is something the people of the 7th district feel strongly about and i want to share their thoughts with you. 51% of the calls and letters to my office say don't raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances. 26% say raise it with substantial cuts. 10% are ok to raise it whatever. and 10% say you can raise it but do not increase taxes. the people have spoken. there is an old saying that if you owe the bank $1,000 that's your problem. but if you owe the bank $1 million. that's the bank's problem. word of point for the financial community, our bank is starting to fear that our problem is becoming their problem. two major rating agencies, moodies and standards and poors, have publicly announced they are going to reassess america's triple-a credit rating. the people have spoken. the business community's spoken. when will the president and

democrats listen? every dollar we spend on political preferences is one more dollar american families cannot spend on their children. one more dollar that small business cannot spend hiring an employee. one more dollar that a worker can't save for his retirement. this time it's serious. cut cap and balance is the first step but by no means the last. we have to make immediate cuts to show the financial community we are serious about being good on our promise to repay our debts and the president needs to get serious. he refused to put his plan in writing, but vows to veto our cap and balances balance. speech and framework is not a plan. the first thing you do when you -- the first thing to do when you dig yourself in a hole is to stop digging. we need commonsense reforms to make sure this won't happen again. we need spending caps, a balanced budget amendment, spending cuts will balance our budget. but most of all we need something that's not very

common. common sense. i'd like to close with one of the hundreds of letters from one of my constituents. dear congressman long, do not budge. we put you in office to stop these big spenders. go ahead and call his bluff. i am in tornado ravaged -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman's time has expired. mr. long: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. brown, for five minutes. ms. brown: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to extend my remarks and yield to bobby scott from virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in opposition of an unfortunate trend that seems to be creeping up all over the country. laws requiring voters to show some form of photo i.d. before voting. currently 29 states have laws on the books requiring all voters to show some form of identification before voting,

and many of these require a photo i.d. my home state of virginia requires voter identification or a signature on an affirmation of identity form, which is a much better process. this year many other state legislatures are considering measures that would require voters to have an actual identification. voter i.d. may seem like a good way to keep voter fraud at a minimum, this type of requirement has serious unintended consequences. . mr. speaker, requiring a photo i.d. will make it a little more difficult for voters to exercise their right to vote. we should particularly be concerned if provisions like these have a disper ate impact on my -- desperate impact on my citizens. african-americans are three times more than others to lack a government-issued i.d. there will be unintended

consequences where nuns were denied the right to vote because they couldn't produce a voter i.d. -- photo i.d. even though they were personally known to the election officials. now, it's obvious that voter i.d. laws will not prevent people from voting, but it creates another little barrier that will mean that a few potential voters will not get their paperwork in on time and will miss the voter registration deadlines. these few voters could make the difference in an election. mr. speaker, these voter i.d. laws are not a solution in search for a problem. there is no credible evidence that in-person voter fraud is a persistent problem and voters who will be denied the opportunity to vote under these processes will certainly outnumber any fraudulent votes that are prevented. voting is not an arbitrary inconsequential act. mr. speaker, it's important that we make sure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to vote free from any unnecessary barriers.

thank you and i yield back to the gentlelady from florida. ms. brown: and i yield the balance of my time to congressman john lewis from georgia, mr. civil rights. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, voter rights act made it possible for all of our citizens to become participants in the democratic process. mr. speaker, voting rights are under attack in america. there's a deliberate and systematic attempt to prevent millions of elderly voters, young voters, students, minority and low-income voters for exercising their constitutional right to engage in a democratic process. voter i.d. laws are becoming all too common. but make no mistake, voter i.d. laws are a poll tax. people will struggle to pay for

basic necessities cannot afford a voter i.d. the right to vote is precious and almost sacred and one of the most important blessings of our democracy. today we must be strong in protecting that blessing. we should be making it easy, simple and convenient for people to vote. before the voting rights act of 1965, people stood in the line. sometimes people were asked to count the number of jellybeans in a jar. people were asked to pass a so-called literacy test. lawyers, doctors, teachers, college professors flunked the so-called literacy test. before the passing of the voting rights act of 1965, 45

years ago, many were jailed, beaten and some were even killed for trying to register and vote. we must not step backward toward another dark period in our history. the vote is the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have in a democratic society. we must fight back. we must speak up and speak out. we must never, ever go back. we will not stand by while millions of americans are denied their right to participate in a democratic process. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlewoman yield back her time? ms. brown: i yield back my time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. herger, for five minutes. mr. herger: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of the cut, cap and balance act. the national debt has shattered

confidence in our economy, has cost jobs and is preventing our economic recovery. working families across our nation are living within their means during tough times. if the rest of america gets it, why doesn't washington? i recently did a main street-style walk and talk in my district where i met with a number of small business owners and their employees. they shared their concern about our out-of-control debt and frustration with washington for enacting policies that hold down job creation and economic growth rather than fostering an environment that will enable them to thrive. but the comment i heard most often was, what is washington thinking? i told them i really don't understand it either. president obama has spent his

administration enacting policies that have added more debt to our nation than the previous 43 presidents combined. the tragic reality is that the president's big spending policies only made things worse. unemployment is at 9.2%, and that doesn't count the millions who have given up. the president had a cycle of unemployment that -- it has placed us where we're at today. now with the national debt at crisis levels, he is standing in the way of commonsense solutions offering only lectures, not leadership. he's asked congress to consent, to continue business as usual. as a matter of conscience, this congress cannot support

allowing president obama to continue to steer america's debt past the point of no return. mr. speaker, we will be judged harshly and rightfully so by future generations if we fail to act. the cut, cap and balance ends rampent government spending. it reduces spending by $100 billion. cuts $6 trillion over the next 10 years, and demands a strong balanced budget amendment. mr. speaker, i believe the cut, cap and balance act is what the american people want and what washington desperate knee -- debt presley needs -- desperately needs. i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from connecticut, mr. courtney, for five minutes. mr. courtney: thank you, mr. speaker. in march of 2009 the u.s.s. hartford, a 17-year-old los angeles class submarine was steaming into port in the straits of hormuzz. visibility was low -- hurmuz. visibility was low. out of the blue they were struck by the u.s.s. san antonio, an lpd amphibious ship, which collided with the hartford. the hartford rolled 35 degrees, throwing sailors, anything that wasn't tied down flying in the air. the good news the collision did no have a breach in the submarine. there was no leak in the pressure hull. it was badly torn 20 to 25 degrees. the ship limped home in groton, connecticut, which was a tough voyage going across the atlantic, again, riding at the surface, which people who knows

submariners, is the worst place to ride a subman, but it made it back to port. the challenge was for the ship yard of how to repair a ship that was 17 years old, that was built with totally different technology, hand-drawn prints, a work force that had largely retired and parts that really weren't in existence anymore. but the folks at electric boat, 450 strong, came together as a team and calling back some of their retirees, were able over a period of 18 month to perform the most ultimate body shop repair job of a los angeles class submarine, and i'm happy to report to this house that the u.s.s. hartford is now back under way performing its missions and will extend the life of again a submarine that this country invested closely to $1 billion 20 years ago when it was first constructed. again, the replacement cost if this were not done would have been close to $2 billion with the folks were able to do was

at a cost of about 5% of that. they got the hartford back operating. again, a great savings to the u.s. taxpayer. i want to share this story because it demonstrates when you invest in people, nuclear welders, as today admiral kevin mccoy testified last year, have a value to the u.s. work force almost as great as a surgeon. when you invest in people, when you have those skills and you have the kind of teamwork you see at e.b., this country can succeed in ways that no other country can touch us. the complexity of a nuclear submarine matches anything that a space shuttle entails in terms of the challenges to support human life in an environment that human life cannot exist and the capability of one of these vessels, again, defies human imagination. congratulations to the work force at electric boat to show

that the united states of america can capable of taking on any challenge when it has the right combination of investment, skill and talent, something which as we look at our challenges as we face as a nation today is something we can both take inspiration from but also learn valuable lessons about where the right priorities of this government should be. investing in education, work force skills is the best investment to grow this economy and solve america's problem. mr. speaker, i'd like to enter into the record an article written by jennifer mcdermott which documents this story of technological success. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. paul, for five minutes. mr. paul: i thank you, mr. speaker, and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. paul: mr. speaker, the congress is concerned about the debt. the people are concerned about the debt.

the markets are concerned about the debt. the world is concerned about the debt and what we're doing here today because we live with a world fiat dollar standard and so the whole world is engulfed in this very serious problem. i do not understand, though, that if the debt is the problem, and i agree that debt is the problem, that for us to come here and raise the debt by $2.4 trillion is the solution. that just baffles me. i think it's a distraction because when a country gets indebted to the degree we are indebted, the country always defaults. this is historic, especially if the country is a significant country. on occasion a small country will quit sending the checks and they'll go bankrupt. we're not going to do that but we will default because the debt is unsustainable. this year it is said that we have a debt increase of $1.6

trillion, but that's not true. if you count what we borrow from the pension funds, the social security, highway funds, it's $2 trillion. but if you include the increase in the entitlement obligation, it's $5 trillion. so this is a huge, huge problem. but how -- but the argument here is, how do you default? and it is said that if we don't raise the debt limit we will default and not send out the checks. i don't believe that for a minute. if you really wanted to live within the technicalities, there is a simple thing you can do. there was a $1.6 trillion. well, that's not a real debt. they bought those treasury bills with money out of thin air. we could just write that off, pay the interest, tie it over, cut back and live within our means and that would be a solution. but to increase the national

debt will only encourage another type of default and that's what we're going through. we're engaged in the most difficult and very bad way of defaulting and that is through the destruction of the currency. today we have an inflation rate of 9%, and that is defaulting, so if a government can default and print money, if they can get a 50% inflation rate over a period of time, they cut that debt in half. that is the goal, that is what's happening and that is very, very serious. just in these last three years in dealing with this crisis the dollar has been devalued 50% against gold and gold, of course, is the best measurement of the value of a currency. it's been that way for thousands of years and it cannot be denied because it's economic law. so we are defaulting. when the american people go out and buy goods and services like they are now, they're recognizing it costs a lot of money. so right now we are in the

early stages of rampant inflation which means we will be hit with higher prices and higher interest rates. that's going to be a tax. so i see the only solution and that is to cut spending. now, the reason we don't cut spending is one side loves entitlements and the other side loves war. even this attempt, $100 billion of cuts when we have this huge, huge deficit, but there's no mention of cutting military spending. i don't want to cut defense spending. this military spending doesn't defend us. it makes things worse. our problem in this country doesn't come only from the congress. it comes from the people. . the people have a strong appetite for big government programs. they think government can take care of us from cradle to grave and we can be the policemen of the world. someday, we as a country, people, and congress will have to say, what should the role of government be? the founders had a pretty strong

suggestion, they wrote a constitution. the government should be very limited. the government should be protrecting our tibbers and provide -- protecting our liberties and providing a sound defense. we didn't do that. we embarked on a course that was destined to end badly and this is where we are today. if we don't understand this, this default will not be because we don't send out the checks, we will send out the checks. it will be defaulted on because people will get their money back or they will get their social security security checks and it won't buy anything. that is -- social security checks and it won't buy anything. that is much worse than facing the fact we will not raise the debt limit and work our way out of this. that is devastating economically and devastating politically because we just saw a taste of what happens, how the anger is built when you see other countries in europe now defaulting and can't pay their bills. so this is more significant than ever because we --

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from -- the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, for five minutes. ms. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. the right to vote is a fundamental right which is at the heart of this nation, this right is under attack. i came to this floor after the stolen presidential elections in florida and ohio to protest the results of these two election that is were filled with voter suppression. now years later, 34 states, once again, in our map of shame, require voters to present i.d. to vote in federal, state, and local elections and in 15 of those states voters must present a photo i.d. some states requiring the i.d. be government issued, mind you, to cast a ballot. however for any number of reasons, 21 million americans do not have a government issued i.d. required by these voters i.d. laws, and thus the mument right to american citizens is taken away. most state legislatures have enacted or have proposed

legislation echoing similar detrimental voting changes. many of these bills have only one true purpose, and that is the disenfranchisement of specific populations of eligible voters. in california, unfortunately, there is a voter i.d. bill pending to suppress voter participation. it would cost, mind you, $26, $26 just to get the required document to qualify for a government i.d. this certainly looks like a poll tax to me. which all of us from the south know and remember as a way to keep african-americans from voting. these voter i.d. laws have a partisan agenda, seeking to deny specific populations of people the opportunity to not to vote which is really very shameful. before they have an opportunity to elect their representatives in government. we cannot allow this. so i have to thank congresswoman marcia fudge, the congressional

black caucus, and all our colleagues for their voices to protect the rights for all citizens across this nation. i urge the department of justice to be vigilant and aggressive in protecting the civil rights and voting rights of americans. we go around the world preaching democracy. and the importance of voting. yet we are going in the opposition direction in our own country. now i'd like to yield to the gentleman from tennessee, representative cohen. mr. colon: thank you, ms. lee -- mr. cohen lon thank you, ms. lee. we previously heard from other people, particularly the distinguished congressman john lewis, had a was a civil rights hero in the 1960's and risked his life for the right to vote. we are experiencing the day after international nelson mandela day, it was his 91st birthday. next month we'll dedicate memorial to dr. martin luther king on the mall. when you think about martin

luther king and nelson mandela and john lewis, you got to think about voting rights and how far the nation and the world have come in the last 45 years. and how long it took to get there. and to think that there are impediments being placed in the way of people to vote, whether intentional or not, i believe those impediments are being placed there intentionally to dissuade african-americans and democrat leading groups to vote in the elks. to stop president obama from being re-elected and the public to pick democratic representatives to switch the priorities of this house to those that would be more reflective of the middle class and people yearning for opportunities. whether they are intentional or not, if they have an effect that is harmful to voting rights, just like other laws, if they have an effect in practice, they are just as harmful and just as wrong as if they were intended to. and there's no question that

these type of impediments to require people to get voter i.d.'s, where 25% of african-americans in this country don't have that type of i.d., 8% of caucasians are in the same limitation of not having that type ever i.d., it's obvious that african-americans and students and others are the ones that are designed to be targeted by these laws. in my state of tennessee that passed such a law, to get a photo i.d. isn't easy. i went myself to get a driver's license with a photo i.d. it took 1:20 constantly standing in line. no place to sit. it was not easy. people will not be able to do it. it will be an impediment to them and limit their opportunity to vote. it's wrong. i'd like to yield my time back to ms. lee and thank you her and congressman fudge for bringing this to america's attention. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. ms. lee: i now yield to the gentlewoman from wisconsin, congresswoman gwen moore.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman has 15 seconds. ms. moore: 15 seconds. mr. speaker, may i -- ms. lee: may i ask you about the time allocated. this should be under the five-minute rule. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman has 15 seconds. ms. lee: i reserve the balance of my time -- i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. ms. moore: mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from missouri, mrs. hartzler, for five minutes. mrs. hartzler: thank you, mr. speaker.

only in washington can you hear people say that it's irresponsible to balance a budget. i actually heard democratic leaders on tv this weekend complaining that it would require a supermajority vote to raise taxes on american people but only a majority to cut spending. maybe some people have been in washington too long to realize it, but the american people want to tie washington's hands and make it easier to cut spending than raise taxes. they want to cap the growth of government. they want to require a balanced budget. for decades we have heard excuses for why washington's special and shouldn't be forced to balance its budget. it's time to tell those people that their scare tactics are over. this is a new day. in america the people are solve ers and today the people demand accountability. they demand a responsible constrained government. they demand a balanced budget.

clearly washington is never going to choose to balance its budget so the people demand that we force it to. 49 out of 50 states have some form of a balanced budget amendment. if 98% of the states know this is a wise plan, why are washington politicians fighting tooth and nail against it? the answer is simple. power. they will try to scare the american people any way they can to avoid losing power over this massive, bloated bureaucracy. they will say that they must have this power or else they can't keep taking care of people. they will try to scare seniors into continuing their unrestrained power to borrow. they say they will manage their borrowing power wisely. they will restrain themselves. talk is cheap. and i have heard the same line for decades. what matters are results. how have washington politicians managed their borrowing power? one number will tell you, $134.3

-- $$14.3 trillion. the amount of our budget today. the balanced bugged amount is essential because the government has shown time and again until we restrain their hands the problem will continue. president obama has only made our spending problem worse by adding $3.7 trillion to the national debt in just two years. the president has spent more money in less time than any other leader in american history. last week president obama told republicans, don't call my bluff. i, for one, think this game has gone on long enough. the power needs to be restrained. all power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely. today we fight back against this corruption of absolute power. today we stand with the american people. today we vote to return the power to the people. we invite president obama to get onboard. oppose this run away spending and pass a balanced budget.

five years ago he agreed. on march 16, 2006, then senator barack obama stood in the well of senate and said, the fact that we are here today to debate raising america's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. he spoke of the quote, commonsense budgeting principle of balancing spence -- expenses. five years down the road, unfortunately, president obama is singing a different tune. he has demanded more borrowing authority with no strings attached. he started telling us that we must raise the debt ceiling and called our common sense budgeting reforms gimmicks and radical. here's what i'm hearing from people in missouri, my district. that's what common sense is. raising the debt ceiling is like handing five more credit cards to someone who has already maxed out 50 ear credit cards and sitting back and saying you fix the problem. how dumb would that be? here's from michael, don't give

in. as a veteran receiving a pension i continue to stand behind you and the house leadership in expecting meaningful spending cuts before raising the debt ceiling without raising taxes. taxpayers don't like what's going on and we aren't going to sit by and watch any more. here's from margaret, a minimum of 4d billion over 10 years is a drop in the bucket. we also need a constitutional amendment so our leaders can't seem to stop spending and do the right thing. do the right thing now. judy, from, the very idea of increasing the debt limit to get us out of trouble is absurd. you cannot borrow your way out of trouble. deal with it. cut the pork. mark, we have always had to live within our means and it's time for the government to do the same. we can't have everything we want. the government needs to be reduced. i do not think my children and grandchildren should pay for a lack of responsibility.

larry, this is a turning point in history. i agree. let's do the right thing. today, let's pass cut, cap, and balance. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise to oppose the epidemic across america dealing with voter suppression and requiring voter i.d. do you realize that almost every election in my own state of texas there has been discrimination, intimidation to voters? whereas we used to be able to use a birth certificate, utility bill, government check, paycheck, and other documents, now we cannot because someone suggests that someone will steal someone's birth certificate to impersonate a voter. i don't think that's right. what we need now is to eliminate the poll tax of the 21st century. barbara jordan recognized that voting is a right not a privilege. and she stood in the gap to

ensure texas was covered by the voting rights act. she would not be here today if we had the voter intimidation that we are seeing going across america. eliminate the voter i.d. requirement. put in the standard requirement of identification that people have had and stop seniors and others from voting. with that, mr. speaker, i would like to yield to mr. ryan of ohio. may i ask how much time, please? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady has four minutes. ms. jackson lee: let me yield to him a minute and a half. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ryan: i thank the gentlelady. i'd also like to thank representative fudge for her leadership. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentlelady may not yield blocks of time. ms. jackson lee: i yield to the gentleman from ohio. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ryan: i thank the gentlelady. i also thank representative fudge of the congressional black caucus. this issue of voter identification and voter suppression goes to the heart of

our constitution in this country. 11% of adults would not have a qualified identification to be able to go and vote, 25% of african-americans would not have a qualified i.d. to be able to vote. and i have one quem, where's the tea party on this issue -- question, where's the tea party on this issue? with all the placards about freedom and liberty and we are losing our country, but we have an issue that is fundamental to what it means to be an american, the right to vote . to the question i have is, where's the tea party on the voter suppression issue? i yield back the balance of my time. . ms. jackson lee: i yield now to the gentleman from indiana, mr. carson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. carson: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, congresswoman jackson lee. you know, mr. speaker, voting is a fundamental right of every american. yet, here we are decades after the civil rights movement

watching as states across this great nation pass laws that threaten the ability of citizens to participate in our government. this trend is troubling and one we must closely monitor. my state, the great hoosier state of indiana, was among the first to impose a strict law requiring voters to present government issued identification despite having no evidence of actual voter fraud. as other states follow suit, rerisk broadening the threat to rights of the poor, the elderly, the young and minority voters. i do not believe right to vote should-g on one's ability to -- should hinge on one's ability to have voter identification. we should not have laws that block the rights of vulnerable groups or discriminate. to do so would be to forfeit

the fundamental quality of this right and the purpose behind it. thank you and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: mr. johnson of georgia. mr. johnson: mr. chairman, nothing is more fundamental in our democracy than the right to vote. by stoking the fires of fear and anger, aided and abetted by the supreme court with their citizens united decision, opening the door for unlimited spending by corporations, they are now blocked an an old strategy, voter suppression. one of the tactics in making to more difficult for citizens to vote is imposing an unnecessary requirement that voters show a state-issued i.d. to vote. this is a blatant attempt to keep certain populations from

voting, thus ensuring that republicans mape taint control of congress. voter suppression is not -- maintain control of congress. voter suppression is not right, it's unfair and un-american and that's real, y'all. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: let me thank congresswoman fudge and make a commitment to the american people that you will be assured that these members of the congressional black caucus, tricaucus, will prevent elections from being stolen and your fundamental birthright of voting from being stolen. that is justice and we will be fighting for justice. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio, mrs. schmidt, for five minutes. mrs. schmidt: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today i rise to honor something really wonderful in my district, the 125th birthday of america's sixth oldest amusement mark, coney island in cincinnati,

ohio. mr. speaker, what began as a 20-acre apple orchard on thebacks banks of the ohio river in 1867 was quickly transformed into a private picnic retreat, complete with a bowling alley, a dance hall and a mule-powered merry-go-round. it became known as ohio grove, the coney island of the west. after being sold to the ohio grove corporation. modeling itself of coney island of new york city, they quickly dropped the name of ohio grove and just called it coney island and began to add more rides and more attractions. in 1911, the first roller coaster was added. in 1913 the dip n dots was add. it was not until 1924 that the signature attraction of coney island was realized when george schott, one of cincinnati's greatest philanthropist, purchased coney island.

in 1925, they added sunlight pool, the world's largest recirculating swimming pool. now, mr. speaker, let me give you the dimensions of this pool because it's bigger than a football field. a football field is 300 feet by 160. this is 200 feet by 401 feet. in addition to being one of the largest recirculating pool, it continues to be the largest flat surface pool in northern america and was the precursor to other pools in the united states. it went through a lot of trials and tribulations over the next part of the century. but it kept adding new attractions and new rides, including ones that i enjoyed as a child, like the wild cat and the shooting star. in 1971, a decision was made to take the amusement portion of it and move it to another portion in my district in kings island which made people think what would happen to sunlight

pool but visionaries realized they had an attraction, they had a water park and they continued to add dimensions to the sunlight pool to make it an attraction. in 1986 river bend was realized by putting in two separate theaters -- outdoor theaters to allow concerts to occur. today, coney island continues to thrive with the small amusement for children, the sunlight pool and a thriving river bend. i'd like to say on a personal note, i remember my mother telling me stories when her mother took her. my mother took me. i took my daughter. and over the fourth of july break i was able to take my two grand sons to coney island to swim in the pool. i'm so excited that this beautiful attraction continues to exist for 125 years. i want to celebrate the tenacity of the folks along the way that have continued to invest in this great asset in

my district. i want to wish them a great happy birthday. and i hope that coney island continues for at least another 125. happy birthday, coney island. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back her time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan, mr. clarke, for five minutes. mr. clarke: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. clarke: mr. speaker, i wanted to address the debt had a is killing jobs in this country and it's robbing americans of their financial security. and i also will propose how we get out of that debt to create

jobs and restore financial security to all americans. now, the federal debt is important. we got to do everything we can this week and the next week to avoid a government default because if the government defaults on its obligations at the very least that's going to cause all of these interest rates to rise on the marn people holding debt and that could drive people further into financial distress and into foreclosure and into bankruptcy. but the debt that is crushing the american people is the mortgages, the student loans, the credit cards that people have to bear. now, i'm from detroit and jobs are important. in fact, i represent one of the regions in the country that has the highest unemployment rate.

as equally important as jobs are to the economy we've got to get americans out of debt. i know folks that are working right now. they have jobs. they're earning income but they have no money because their income's going to pay off bills. it's going to creditors. they can't provide for themselves. they can't provide for their families. they can't provide security for the future because they're in debt. and this american personal debt is also costing the u.s. economy jobs. because when people don't have money to save, don't have money to invest, they can't really spend it on businesses who could hire more people and create more jobs. my point is this, and you know, i'm speaking to a few of the members of congress that are here right now, but most

importantly, i'm speaking to you, the american people, because maybe you could help me drive this congress to address the real debt that's threatening this democracy and our economy. this country's economy will not rebound strongly. we will not easily get out of this recession as long as americans are underwater on their mortgages, defaulting on student loans, maxing out on their credit cards. if we want to create jobs, jobs that will truly be sustainable and help provide families with real financial security, this congress was realized that when the american people are in debt so is this country. so here's what i'm urging today. i'm going to have a resolution that i'm going to put forth that as we work to prevent a

government default on its obligations that we also have to work to make sure that americans don't default on their debt. so i am asking in a strongest possible way as i can for this congress on certain loan obligations to immediately work to cut mortgages down to the value of your home. to secure student loans. because the only way, the most powerful way that we can restore our economy, strength to great jobs that are sustainable is to help americans get out of debt. now, congress has an obligation to do so because we changed the rules over the past decade or so that put americans in all this debt. but just as congress has an

obligation to act, i got to talk to you, the american people. you got to act too. you got to take responsibility. you want this government to get out of debt, then you get out of debt personally. stop the spending. stop the borrowing. stop overconsumption, buying things you don't need with money you don't have. that's robbing you and your family of a future. it's robbing this country out of jobs. so i'm going to ask every american right now, get out your credit cards, cut them up, free yourself, free yourselves. don't count on this congress to help you. this congress already voted to end medicare. they're flirting with disaster on this debt right now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. clarke: i'm asking americans, take control of your -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. clarke: let's hold this congress accountable for your debt. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from north

carolina, ms. foxx, for five minutes. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today the house is going to debate a bill that holds the potential to move us away from a debt crisis and toward prosperity. and i want to associate myself with the comments that were made by our colleague, the chair recognizes the gentlelady from missouri, ms. hartzler, a couple speakers ago when she talked about how our colleagues on the other side of the aisle say it's irresponsible to amend the constitution in order to require the balance the budget. yesterday in the rules committee we heard from the gentleman from maryland who talked about how we're twisting the constitution to put in a limit on how we could cut

taxes, raise taxes into the constitution by butting a 2/3 vote and restrictions into the constitution. we're damaging the constitution. mr. speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. the congresses in the past have proven that they don't have the restraint that's necessary to keep our spending under control. we need a constitutional amendment in order to do that. they did admit yesterday that we are paying the credit card from the past. and i want to point out that under president obama, the average annual deficits that were in existence under president bush became monthly deficits under president obama. 2 1/2 years ago -- since 2 1/2

years ago the national debt has increased by $3.7 trillion. that's why we need to cut spending, mr. speaker. we need to cut our spending. we need to cap our spending at no more than 20% of the g.d.p. that's what it was traditionally. it is now eased up to 23%. we have to take it back down. . mr. speaker, i also want to point out as my colleague from missouri said, that when president obama was senator obama, he spoke on the senate floor and said, and voted against raising the debt limit, saying that it was a failure of leadership. he doesn't admit that now that it's a failure of leadership. he doesn't even admit that he's part of the problem. and part of the problem is that he has no plan. when he asked yesterday in rules, where's the president's

plan? we were told it was in his speech at george washington university. well, even his own staff people, even his own appointees say they can't score a speech. republicans have a plan and our plan is to cut, cap, and balance. we need a constitutional amendment, mr. speaker, in order to force the congress, past congresses couldn't done it, we are willing to do that. there is no leadership on part of the democrats. the budget the president presented in february was voted down 97-0 in the senate. even his own party will not support him. and what about all these corporate loopholes that the president and our colleagues keep talking about?

the president talks about these corporate jets. but he doesn't admit the fact that the loopholes he's talking about, which he calls subsidies, that loophole was in the stimulus that he forced through this congress that no republican voted for. so the corporate loophole for the jets is one the president put into place. and now he's condemning it. mr. president -- mr. speaker, we need our president and our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to fess up to the fact that they've created this problem. they have no plan to solve it. and all they want to do is throw barbs at the republicans who are showing the courage to do something about this serious debt crisis that we face in this country. and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from north carolina yields back her time. the chair recognizes the

gentlewoman from california, miss walters, for five minutes. ms. waters: thank you very much, mr. chairman. in 2011 we see voter suppression is real and reeling its ugly head in too many republican-led legislatures across this country. with only 15 months left before the next presidential election, republicans are rewriting voting laws to require photo identification at the polls, reduce the number of days of early voting, and to enhance voting restrictions against ex-felons and out-of-state students. since january voter i.d. laws have passed in florida, wisconsin, south carolina, alabama, texas, kansas, and tennessee. governor scott walker of wisconsin and governor rick perry of texas both signed laws this year that would require each voter to show an official valid photo i.d. to cast a ballot. despite the fact that studies show up to 11% of eligible

voters nationwide don't have government issued i.d.'s in florida. governor rick scott signed a bill to tighten restrictions on third party voter organizations and shorten the number of early voting days. governor scott also helped to pass a ban on felon voting rights, forcing nonviolent offenders to wait five years after completing their sentences to apply to have her rights restored. in florida, the florida legislature also passed new laws that makes it tougher for get out of vote groups to register new voters and reduces the number of early voting days from 14-8. make no mistake, we have been down this road before with jim crowe laws. these smoke and mirror policies, and literacy tests by another name. communities must be alert and aware of these laws. we will not allow the sacrifices and death of our forefathers and civil rights leaders to have been in vain. we are prepared for this fight

and fight we will. the new voter i.d. laws and other restrictions have the potential to disdisenfranchise millions of eligible voters, minorities, poor people, seniors and students among those impacted the most. the justice department must get involved. they must make sure that these laws that we have fought so hard for voting rights are not undermined. i yield the balance of the time to ms. moore. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. the gentlewoman has 2 1/2 minutes. ms. moore: mr. speaker, when i became a member of congress i swore an oath to support and defend the constitution of the united states of america. and i rise today to affirm that commitment by speaking out against state efforts to undermine the basic right to vote. a right that has been affirmed by no less than three amendments to the constitution, the vote

act, years and years, over 150 years of litigation, blood, sweat, tears, and lies. no right under the constitution has been more defended by the american people. yet in wisconsin, the wisconsin just passed a very restrictive voter i.d. photo i.d. card in order to vote. i can remember when then representative walker and i, the governor of wisconsin, debated this issue. and he, like so many other people said, what's the big deal? what's wrong with having a photo i.d.? you need a photo i.d. to go to blockbusters and get a video. to drive, you need a photo i.d. to get medicine. getting a video from blockbusters is not a right. the right to vote is a very, very important badge of democracy in this country. we need a very high bar before

we make it more difficult to exercise our rights as u.s. citizens. and what's the bar wisconsin uses to justify its law? the wisconsin attorney general's office found in the two-year election fraud task force investigation that there were 20 instances of possible voter fraud out of three million votes cast. that's 7/1,000 of 1%. and a photo i.d. would not have prevented any of those. people of color are singled out for disenfranchisement when you consider in wigs which is that 59% of african-american, 49% of african-american men, 59% of latinas don't have this kind of i.d. and when you consider the 18 to 24-year-old group, 78% of african-american males don't have this i.d. and 66% of african-american

women don't have the i.d. wonder who they are trying to disenfranchise? we i am plor the department of justice to intervene and prevent these extremely burdensome efforts. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fitzpatrick, for five minutes. mr. fitzpatrick: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of the cut, cap, and balance act and i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle here to support the bill when it comes to the floor later today. this legislation not only provides a workable framework to avert an economically dangerous default on our obligations, but it also sets the stage for real structural changes to the way the federal government spends our tax dollars, something that the president has yet to propose. lately there have been stories and speculation about the major credit rating agencies such as

moodies and standards and poor, threatening to downgrade america's creditworthiness should we fail to raise the debt ceiling. these ratings are more than letters on paper. they affect americans in all walks of life and real ways. a downgrade of our nation's credit rating would make mortgages more expensive, make it more difficult to get a loan for a car, and could make student loans unaffordable. while default would likely ensure a downgrade, a debt ceiling increase is no longer a loan sufficient to ensure our triple-a credit rating. moody's has warned the outlook to our bond rating would remain negative should any plan going forward not include long-term deficit reduction. it is not enough to simply raise the limit on the credit card and continue making the minimum monthly payments. we must begin to pay down our debt. one need look no further than greece and portugal as examples of governments which have failed

to address their debt crises at a time to avoid brutal austerity measures which have ended up with civil disorder in those countries. greece and portugal thought they could avoid making tough decisions clearly laid out before them. they thought they could make it through just one quarter or just past one more legislative session. or maybe they could buy themselves enough time to let the next guys handle it. we cannot continue to operate under the same key delusions. -- same delusions. the cut, cap, and balance act sets us on a path to fiscal solvency by making real spending cuts now placing statutory limits on spending and sending a balanced budget to the states, a measure so many of us have consistently supported. these decisions, mr. chairman, will not be easy. no change ever is. as these debates have gone on

for the past civil months, i have been reminded of thomas payne when he wrote, that if there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my children may have peace. we need to decide with our legacy to our children and their children will be. a mountain of debt or sound government that lives within its means. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. carter, for five minutes. mr. carter: thank you, mr. speaker. six months ago a small business man was called into a financial lending institution and asked to come in and talk to the officer in charge. he went in to that office and the officer in charge told him, he said, you know, you have been a customer of this organization for quite a few years.

and you have -- we have constantly been giving you a line of credit every summer to continue your operation for the next year. this year we are -- our examiners have noted for us and we also throw our board of directors we have examined your operation and your borrowing patterns that you do. and here's what we discovered. we discovered that where you had a going facility and doing well and employing people and things were going well, we started to see a trend in your business to where you were increasing your debt more and more and more. not only were you spending our line of credit that this bank lended you to continue your operations throughout the year, but outside of that line of credit you were borrowing -- you were accumulating many, many

credit cards. and now at this point in time, as i understand it, when you look at it, it's not only -- using our line of credit that we give you, but you are also have maxed out every credit card you've got and quite honestly we are amazed at the number of credit cards you actually have. we didn't really know anybody could have that many credit cards. so we are just going to warn you. if you don't change the direction of the way you are operating your business, we very clearly believe your business is going to go bankrupt. but even more importantly to this institution, this lending institution, we are concerned about the fact that our institution is going to be placed in a very tenuous position on any loans that we make to you, and therefore we are seriously positioning right now is that when you come to us, next august, we are not going to

loan you the money for your line of credit. yesterday this same business man walked into that same lending institution and said, my accountant and i have done the same analysis you have done on the situation of our operation. we have looked at it and we actually agree that we have gone in the wrong direction now for many, many years. and we have spent more than we made for many, many years. and we quite frankly got away from doing the needs of our company to doing the wants of our company. and therefore we are seriously in debt. we want to -- i start by saying i recognize that and when you

gave us our wake-up call, we sat down and analyzed what we could do to show you we are changing the direction of our business. and therefore we propose to you, first, we propose to you that this year, here are the reductions we are going to make on our credit cards, and here are the places where we are going to cut back on the way we spend. . that's for this year. we have determined that we're way over what we really need to function as a prosperous business, and so we're going to offer to you that our business plan over the next 10 years is to put a ceiling on every department and every part of our business operation so that we will never rise above that

ceiling. and therefore, we will continually be reducing the level of our spending over the next 10 years. and then finally we are making a pledge of everything not incurvered in our business to you that we will balance our budget, we will prepare a budget and balance that budget every year. any time that doesn't, immediately you will call every note we have. now, this is imperative. it's also a reality in the united states of america today where everybody but the federal government. that's why today the republicans are offering that same plan of cap, cut and balance. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. schilling, for five minutes.

mr. schilling: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. schilling: thank you, mr. speaker. today, we have an opportunity to tarik action and promote certainty in both our economy and the markets by passing h.r. 2560, the cut, cap and balance act of 2012. moody's and standard & poor's have warned the united states that our a.a.a. rating is at risk if president obama does not raise the debt ceiling by august 2. by cutting, cable, we can respond with -- cut, cap and balance, we can respond with getting our spending under control and put america back to work. mr. speaker, 6 1/2 months ago i left life as a small businessman and have the opportunity to represent the constituents of the 17th district of illinois. i come to the floor this morning with some observations

of where we met progress and where we met frustration. this congress repealed the onerous 1099 tax which prevents our job creators of being bogged down in a nightmare of paperwork. this congress cleaned up the mess left by last year's congress by cutting billions in spending. this house has cut its own office budget by 5% saving taxpayers $32 million and later this week we'll cut our office budget by another 6.4%. most importantly, this house of representatives fulfilled its responsibility by passing a budget. this budget cuts trillions of dollars in spending but more importantly it puts forth a plan to save medicare intead of letting it go -- instead of letting it go insolvent. as a new member of this house there's been frustration with the process. our national debt is $14.3 trillion. each child born today, including my new granddaughter,

ragan, already owes $46,000 as their share of the national debt, yet, there are some members of this body, 97 to be exact, who wanted to give president obama the authority to raise the debt limit by $2.4 trillion with no questions asked. congress has raised the debt ceiling 51 times since 1978 and look where we are today. how can we see these next two weeks as anything but an opportunity to put our great country on a better fiscal path. i d not come here to get my name on a wall plaque. i came here so while my newly born granddaughter, ragan, asked me, grandpa, what did you do to fix this country, i will be able to tell her that i changed this town from bloated spending to spending cuts. i'll be able to tell her that today we took a vote on legislation that does three very important things. it cuts spending, it promotes spending caps to 19.9% of the g.d.p. by 2021 and it makes the

raising of the debt ceiling contringent on a balanced budget amendment. we are only two weeks away from the debtline set by mr. geithner, but we've seen no plan from this administration or the democrats in the house. let me repeat. we have seen no plan from the administration or the democrats in this house. we all know it's easier to criticize than to offer a plan of your own. now, before this plan to cut our spending and balance our budget is demagogued, let me tell you exactly how this thing works. this plan makes no changes to social security and medicare. this plan makes no changes to the veterans' spending. this plan will cut spending by $111 billion in fiscal year 2012. we must use this debate as an opportunity to bring real change to washington and start bage down our debt. if you -- start paying down our debt. if you believe starting a way forward for a balanced budget are commonsense ideas, vote for

this legislation. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from nevada, mr. heck, for five minutes. mr. heck: mr. speaker, i'm here to share a short letter i received from one of my constituents who used to own a small business. his name is steve and his letter eloquently addresses the issue we're discussing today. steve wrote, and i quote, i know it is a very contentious time in washington. the 2008 election led me to sell my business because i saw an assault on the small business owner. my peers continue to ask me how i anticipated our current situation. first, it was the mandated health insurance. then, more government regulation and regulators. and now it is the assault on my earnings that i worked hard for over the last 40 years. the president and his progressive friends will not be satisfied until they kill what

reward for risk incentive is left. equal wealth for everyone is not guaranteed in our constitution. the reward for risk is what made this country what it is today. i ask that you hold the line even if it means losing the next election, end quote. i came to congress to get nevada's economy back on track. and the only way to do that is by listening to our job creators, listening to their concerns and then addressing those very concerns. when i talk with nevada small business owners they feel the same way steve does. they say the reason they're not creating jobs is because of too many harmful regulations, too many taxes and too much government spending. we are in a fiscal crisis and it is killing our job creators' very ability to create jobs. in all of my conversations with nevada business owners the one

thing, the one thing i've never heard them say is, you know what would help me create more jobs, a tax increase. i urge nevadans and my colleagues not to listen to the president's false choice, the idea that we can fix government's fiscal problems by merely closing loopholes and reigning in subsidies. now, let me be clear. i -- loopholes and reigning in subsidies. now, let me be clear. that won't by itself solve the problem. because even if we closed the loopholes and rein in the subsidies, the government will still have a spending problem and it will only be a matter of time before another tax increase is proposed. pass all of the talking points and hyperbole, the president's real choice is about the tax burden families and nevadans face. will that burden be lower or higher?

i'm fighting to make sure it's lower. our job crators -- creators, like steve, realize this. why don't congress, 49 of 50 states, balance their budgets? why don't congress, nevada families live within their means? why doesn't congress? just because there are checks in the checkbook doesn't mean there's money in the checking account. the cut, cap and balance proposal is a thoughtful solution to solving the government's spending problem that protects the promise of social security and medicare for seniors and veterans' benefits to our brave men and women who have fought to protect our freedoms. it will cut $5.8 trillion over the next decade and give our job creators confidence that we are serious about getting our economy back on track. i urge my colleagues to support the cut, cap and balance bill and show that we are serious about balancing washington's checkbook. with that, mr. speaker, i yield

back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nevada yields back his time. the gentleman from colorado, mr. tipton, for five minutes. mr. tipton: thank you, mr. speaker. as americans, we face a challenge. the question yet to be answered is, will we rise to be able to meet that challenge? we can often hear in the debate on this floor something that happens at every super bowl at halftime. it's called kick, pass and punt. we can kick each other around. we can pass on this problem and address it today. and we can punt to the next generation. but i think far more is expected of us. the people who elected us, the people who sent us to this

office are seeking solutions and leadership. to be able to deal with the true commals that we all face at home. last night around dinner tables across our country moms and dads from going over the family budget looking at how much it cost to fill up that gas tank, how they're going to meet that family budget to be able to put food on the table, to be able to keep a roof over their head. they're spending within their means. 49 of our 50 states have one form or another of a balanced budget requirement. meaning that as states they have to be able to live within their means. surprisingly only here in washington, d.c., in our nation's capital, do we think that there is this inexhaustible resource called the american taxpayers' hip

pocket to be able to draw from so that government can grow. the constant argument, my friends, is government needs it more than the people at home. i don't think so. come and walk my district. look in the eyes of the people right now that are struggling to be able to keep that roof over the top of their head. we have that economic challenge. we face a debt in this country of $14.4 trillion. now, i don't know about you. i'm a small business man. it's hard to get your arms going around, just what is $1 million let alone $1 trillion? if you are a basketball fan, you may have paid attention to this last season. had lebron james, arguably one of the best basketball players in the entire country being paid $40 million, $40 million a year to be able to play

basketball. well, if he wants to earn just $1 trillion, we have to wish him very good health. he'll have to play basketball for 25,000 years to earn just $1 trillion. we've stacked up over $14.4 trillion. the president has asked for a blank check to increase the debt of this country an additional $2 trillion-plus. it's the time now for fiscal responsibility in washington. it is. we have to rise to be able to meet that challenge. cut, cap and balance. is that unreasonable? we can demonize it. we can say that washington is above the rules of every american and the rules they have to be able to live with or we can look to the people who we sent to washington to stand up for us, to live under the

same constraints that we do in our individual lives. if we've spent more than we've taken in, we have to be able to find ways to cut back. we then also have to have that alternative to be able to restrain that spending. and then to be able to balance the budget. unfortunately, yesterday the president said that it was going to be dead on arrival. i hope that our american citizenry will rise to this challenge. i've great hope that this chamber will pass cut, cap and balance, but we need to let the senate of the united states and the president of the united states know that we are going to be holding them accountable. our future truly depends on it. this is our time. this is our challenge. this is truly our opportunity. let's put aside what is often

referred to just as politics as usual. this is not a democrat issue. this is not a republican issue. this is an american issue. i hope that our members will join with me in seeking real solutions to real problems, to deal with it so that the american people can look to a brighter future. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule

continue, house democrats opened a press conference today with president reagan -- >> house republicans and democrats met earlier today to discuss the federal deficit and cutting the debt ceiling. we are going to see democrats after that meeting now. >> please help yourselves.

you have got to eat the one you touch. >> i did not touch any of them. thank you. we're joined by chris van hollon and of course our vice chair. i want to give you a sense of the tenor of our caucus by showing you this brief clip that we showed to the caucus that we think kind of sums things up on what we think people should be doing and acting in a very adult, responsible, and fair manner. so if you could rule that, please. >> congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. this brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on social security. interest rates would skyrocket. instability would occur in financial markets, and the federal deficit would soar.

the united states has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations. it means we have a well-earned reputation for reliability and credibility, two things that set us apart from much of the world. >> we have been doing this so that our caucus can continue to get this message out. as many of you know, and it has been reported that a number of people in the public continue to look at this issue of the debt ceiling, especially at a time when they are most concerned about jobs and say, what is this all about? the friend that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been using is that this is somehow cutting up the country's credit card and stopping us from spending more. of course, all of you being well informed individuals, and that is not the case, and in fact, this is an defaulting on the

nation's responsibility and cannot be put more bluntly or more articulately than ronald reagan made it out in 1987. in fact, 17 times, ronald reagan raised the debt ceiling, and without the taking of hostages. yes, there were political disagreements, as there always dollaare. but at the end of the day, the country voted bipartisan lead to make sure people are not put on the brink. for him and george bush, we were not in the midst of the worst recession since the great depression. yet, when i go home, i continue to hear from my constituents about jobs. what the american people are concerned about is giving them the innovation, the infrastructure, and the education to put the middle- class back to work. so here we are engaged in what

almost seems like high theater. the president bending over backwards to try to accommodate and cajoled the republicans into doing what should be the right thing. from my perspective, and i dare say a number of members in our caucus, we should have a clean debt ceiling votes and take this cup away from the american people. we note the tremendous effects it will have on their household economies, let alone the disastrous global and national facts that the debt ceiling would, if it was not passed, would have. but also, i think this is what is at stake here. why can we not keep people at the table, discussing the most important issue of the date? let's agree that cuts have to be made. certainly we have christened and holland and hopyard both participating. but the cuts should be strategic. they should be strategic around

growing jobs. let's also agreed that we have to grow this economy. and that we can make cuts in a way that both deal with waste, like the subsidies that oil companies get, but also provide revenues that are going to produce jobs, let everything be about the creation of jobs. and i hope the president keeps speaker boehner and mitch mcconnell and everybody focused on that, especially as we head up to the august break and find that not one single job has been created or offered by this republican-controlled house. show us the jobs that are coming from all of these proposed cuts. the american people are going to have an opportunity here, as we sit and do something that was routinely done for other

presidents, but in this case, holding hostage medicare and social security, which we will fight to make sure is not a part of any decision. but to make sure that what we're hearing back home in our district, which is still about the creation of jobs, kids addressed strategically. with that, the vice chairman of the caucus. >> thank you very much. seven months into this republican majorities leadership and not one single jobs bill to their credit. 14 days from plunging us into this economic black hole, and what are we going to debate on the floor of the house today? a cut and paste budget, which quite honestly, is nothing more than a movie we have already seen before, and it was not too good the first time we saw it when republicans virtually

plunged the country into a stoppage of work and closed down the government in their budget debates of a few months ago. here we go again. so at some point, the question must be asked of our republican colleagues -- when will this congress focus on what the american public wants to see? and that is job creation, working with the private sector to stimulate jobs, to give the business community the confidence to go out there and invest and hire. how do inspire confidence out there are in the private sector with the private sector does not know if it will have a line of credit it can take out, because if republicans move forward with what they threaten, to not allow the government to pay its debt, i doubt there will be there many banks willing to lend a lot of folks money to open up any business or hire new people or

buying more product. so we are waiting. we have never left the table of negotiations. twice now we have seen republicans walked out on those negotiations and now the talk -- the clock is ticking with 14 days to go. there are ways to get this done. you have to use a balanced approach, as we have always said. but the worst thing is when you walk away from a negotiation and a walk forward into the economic abyss, taking everyone with you. we're ready, and we're waiting for republicans to get serious we will get past this vote. maybe once we get past this vote, republicans will get serious about doing their job. when they do, democrats will be ready. with that, let me move on to chris van hollon. >> thank you, javier. i want to thank my colleagues. in the bill on the floor today, republicans are planning a very dangerous game with the american economy and with jobs.

we heard the click from ronald reagan about what the consequences are of failing to pay your bills. the american families cannot choose not to pay their bills. they know if they do not pay their bills from other credit worthiness goes down, interest rates would go up around the country, and that with tangun already fragile economy. what republicans are saying in this bill today is that if others do not meet 100% of their demands to reduce the deficit their way, ending the medicare guarantee, cutting education while protecting special interest tax breaks, if you do not do it 100% their way, they will allow the economy to go into a tailspin. that is what they're voting on today. now, they already tried once, as my colleague said, to pass their budget that ends the medicare guarantee, cuts in medicaid that millions of seniors in nursing homes depend on.

then they tried it again. they tried to deem that past, and it is not going anywhere in the senate, because the american people do not want it in the medicare guaranteed. they do not like that plan. they do not want to protect special tax breaks. whether the going to do today? they're going to pass a bill that says, unless the congress in the next few weeks passes a constitutional amendment that would manipulate the constitution in a way to put their budget into the constitution of the united states, they are going to refuse to pay the bills of the country and let the economy sink. this is not a garden variety balanced budget. no one should call it that. we can have an honest debate about the balanced budget amendment. this implants to the mechanisms and to the constitution of the united states to address the deficit the way the republicans want to do it. cutting medicare, protecting special interest tax breaks.

why? they have one provision that would write into the constitution that says you can cut medicare and social security with a simple majority vote. but if you want to cut subsidies for oil and gas company or if you want to cut the subsidy for a corporate jet, you need a two- thirds votes. they're going to implant that into the constitution of the united states. they're going to put in the constitution of the united states a preference for cutting medicare and social security, overcutting special interest tax breaks. number two, they passed the constitution, their version of the twisted constitution amendment after -- out of the judiciary committee. a caps federal expenditure at 18%. the united states has not been under that level since 1966. so by putting that artificial cap in place, they are guaranteeing that we are going to have to cut medicare, which was enacted in 1965.

they will have to cut social security and make deep cuts in education, while you protect the special interest tax breaks. really, it is anti-democratic. it would prevent future congresses from responding to the will of the american people to balance the budget in a different way, in a balanced way, say we need the revenue, to balance the budget in a way that allows us to address the needs of retiring baby boomers with respect to social security and medicare. let me end with this, the president has put on the table a balanced approach. if it is modeled after the bipartisan simpson-bowles proposal. not every detail. $3 in spending cuts for every $1 revenue increase. we all know the republicans walked away from the table, because they refused to allow one penny of revenue from closing a special interest tax

loophole to go for the purpose of deficit reduction. that is their position. the american people want a balanced approach. so do we. let's get on with the business of the country. >> time for a few questions. >> we're going live to the u.s. house, where members are about to start legislative work for the day. after about a half-hour of one- minute speeches, members will begin debate on the republican debt and deficit bill that the democrats were just talking about. it requires more than $100 billion in spending cuts this year, accretes mandatory tax on future government spending, and would require any debt limit increase to be contingent on congress passing a balanced budget amendment through the constitution. the house coming in live here on c-span.

the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered today by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. dear god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. we ask your special blessing upon the members of this people's house, they face difficult decisions and difficult times, with many forces and interests demanding their attention. give them generosity to enter into their work. may they serve you in the work they do as you deserve. give of themselves and not count the cost, fight for what is best for our nation and not count the wounds, toil until their work is done and not seek to rest, and

labor without seeking any reward other than knowing they are doing your will and serving the people of this great nation. bless them, o god, and be with them and with us all this day and every day to come. may all that is done be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker: those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the journal is approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: mr. speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays.

the speaker: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from missouri, mr. clyburn. mr. clyburn: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair lays before the house a following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, i have received the following correspondence regarding the election of janice hahn to fill the vacancy of the 36th congressional district for the state of california. the correspondent was not a candidate for office and affirms

that he is not eligible to contest the election under the law. as such, i forward the correspondence to the house for its disposal. with best wishes, i am, signed, sincerely, karen l. haas, clerk. the speaker: referred to the committee on house administration and ordered printed. the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> request unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this country has a real problem with jobs or the lack of jobs and our economy. it's what we in congress need to be debating solutions to resolve. instead we're having to argue with the president about our debt ceiling. the president is refusing to cut spending that every american knows we have to do unless he gets tax increases. and he's threatening to with hold social security checks to seniors to get his way.

and i think that's shameful and -- but right now we've got a solution in the house, the republicans do, called cut, cap and balance that will with hold spending to a level that we can afford in a responsible way without new taxes. mr. rogers: we're urging the president to do something big, he says he wants to do something big about our debt problem, this is the solution. we urge him to work with us and not demand new taxes. and once he'll do that we can turn to some meaningful things that will help improve the job situation which by the way is at 9.% unemployment and going the wrong direction. we can do some things like getting the regulators off our community banks so small businesses can have access to capital. shrinking the size of e.p.a. and osha and nlrb who are bloated in their infrastructure and just stifling jobs in america. we have a lot of things we can do but first we have to get our

spending under control. i urge my colleagues to vote for cut, cap and balance. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> request permission to address the house for one minute, mr. speaker. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the drastic cuts of social security and medicare and other crucial federal programs that the passage of the cut, cap and balance would force up on the american people. the cut, cap and balance act takes our nation closer to default by holding it hostage while congress passes a constitutional amendment to limit the total spending so to 18% of our gross domestic product. the last time federal spending was below 18% of the gross domestic product was 1966. mr. green: when the median age was eight years younger and the average cost of health care was 1/5 of what it is today. even under president ronald reagan, federal spending was over 22% of gross national product. throughout this -- though this legislation may claim to exempt many federal programs in

spending limitation there are -- it is almost impossible to revert spending to the 1960's levels without shortcuts in every program. even the f.y. 2012 budget that the house republican majority passed in april would dismantle medicare as you know it, allow for federal spending to be above 20% of the gross domestic product. i urge my colleagues on both sides to vote to support america's retirees, veterans and children and oppose this dangerous legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: mr. speaker, under the a.t.f.'s operation fast and furious, purchasers bought and sold guns to mexican drug cartels while the a.t.f. watched. it is hard to understand why the a.t.f. is complicit in the drug smuggling business. maybe the government hoped it would lead to more gun control. but unfortunately it led to murder. border patrol agent brian terry and i.c.e. agent zapata were

killed by guns that were trafficked into mexico under this operation. rather than investigate this ill-conceived and dangerous operation the federal government is doing what it does best. creating gun control regulations to solve a problem it created. the president's new discriminatory executive order requires border states to report purchases of two or more rifles to the a.t.f. the very agency that purposely and in-- purposely let 2,000 guns go to mexico, 1,400 of which are still missing. this administration ignores the obvious. it's not the gun, it's the shooter. and in this case it's the federal government's recklessness and supedity that led to at least -- stupidity that led to at least two murders. it's time to control the a.t.f., not guns. and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection, the gentleman from rhode island is recognized for one minute. mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor and recognize the rich history of colombia as we mark colombian independence day on july 20. we honor the people of colombia and those individuals of proud colombian descent who are celebrating more than 200 years of independence. colombian have been immigrates to rhode island for the past 50 years and i'd like to thank them for the contributions to our state. the people were led in the first raising of their flag, signifying their sovereignty and the birth of one of the most culturally rich nations in all of latin america. today we celebrate a great country, its people, their traditions and the mark they have made on cities like central falls and providence and others, adding to the vibrancy of these communities. for that alone i am proud to honor your heritage and the difference you have made and as i pay tribute to the people of the great nation of clomyarks i also want to again extend my thought and sympathies to colombians everywhere for the suffering that continues to occur because of the floods in your country. may you continue to be inspired to support the people of colombia through this difficult time as we celebrate colombian

independence day and honor the enormous contributions of colombian americans. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from south carolina is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, today we'll have the opportunity to vote for a solution on the impending debt ceiling issue in washington. the cut, cap and balance act of 2011 will cut $111 billion of spending next year. it will cap the total federal spending for the next 10 years and finally it will require the passage of a balanced budget amendment before raising the national debt limit. this year the federal government will spend twice the amount it spent just 10 years ago. the government has a spending problem. it is not lack of revenue. and it must be addressed to protect senior citizens. where are the liberals' plans? it's been over 800 days since the liberals passed a budget in the senate.

the president's failed plan does not cut spending. instead it just raises taxes in a recession, killing jobs. i hope both parties can come together to enact the cut, cap and balance act which i am grateful to have co-sponsored, to benefit the young people of our country. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, last year the republican colleagues ran their campaign on the slogan, where are the jobs? it's been 28 weeks since republicans took control of the house and the question still remains, where are the jobs? we all know that the bush tax for the wealthy failed to create new jobs, they fooled the olympic once, it ain't going to happen again. mr. baca: now instead of working to create jobs, republicans are holding our country hostage, taking the debt limit talks to a

brick, under republican budget proposals, seniors will lose guaranteed medical benefits, have their out of pocket d medical expenses doubled and the republican plan will reopen medicare, the doughnut hole area, costing four million seniors an additional $.2 billion. it's wrong to make our seniors suffer. to give a tax break to the ultrarich and corporations that shift jobs overseas. no new tax, no new jobs, no taxes, no jobs, no taxes, no jobs. let's put together a plan that lowers our deficit without doing that on the backs of our seniors and the middle class. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, would you invest in a company if there was a 40% chance that would you lose all of your money? that doesn't sound like much of an investment. most people would call that gambling.

but that is exactly what the federal government is about to do in setting up the new obamacare health care coops. the department of h.h.s. will loan more than $4 billion in the coming years as an attempt to set up at least one coop in each state. mr. pitts: they project that 40% of the loans given out to plan the could he opens will go into de-- coops will go into default. 35% of the loans to keep the coops solvent are also projected to go into default. this could add up to billions of dollars lost. we raise taxes by more than $1 trillion so we could burn it away on projects with an extremely high ratele failure. when we take money away from the private sector and then bush it away on government -- burn it away on government projects, the result is going to be lost jobs and a struggling economy. we need jobs, not more failed government programs. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from missouri is recognized for

one minute. >> mr. speaker, this is a very sad time for me and i hope for others. unemployment is at 9.2%. mr. cleaver: for african-americans it's at 16.2%. if you use the labor department's u-6 standards it's almost 30%. and all we want to do here is argue. argue. these are real human beings who are out here struggling. i saw a laidy the other day working -- lady the other day working at a hotel, cleaning up with a college degree from howard university. she can't get a job. and so what are we going to do in congress? well, congress likes to bash the jobless need cash. what do we need to do to get things going? we need to stop being so mean. mean. that's what we are down here. a bumble bee cannot sting and

make honey at the same time. and what we have decided to be in congress are a big group of 435 stingers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for one minute. mr. landry: you know, mr. speaker, i'm new to washington so sometimes i don't understand why this town makes everything so hard. for decades now this town has squandered the wealth of the people of the united states and, yes, it is the people's money, not washington's. our spend something 24% of our economy. our revenue is 15%. 24% is bigger -- is larger than 15%. what we spend is more than we take in. we have a spending problem here. . mr. president stop the class warfare and end the threats to our seniors. you know they are the most vulnerable an it is they who have carried the burden of this reckless spending for decades.

since you refuse to lead with a plan, we have. i'm sorry you don't like our plan. but you don't have a plan or have not put a plan forward. we must get america's fiscal house in order. to do so will require fiscal discipline and sacrifices. we must separate our wants from our needs. this bill forces us to do this. it is the responsible thing to do. it is the only way to guarantee that the future -- it is the only way to guarantee the future solvency of the united states and protection of our citizens from out-of-control government. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from new york seek recognition? without objection, the gentlelady from new york is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, while we were preoccupied with the weighty issues of the day, we also need to take a moment to acknowledge what is also good. today ed alike to recognize an exceptionally strong and inspiring group of women, united states women's soccer team.

ms. hochul: despite odds, they overcame odds and made five rounds of play. what is most exciting to me is that two of our strongest players hail from western new york, abby wambach, and alex morgan who currently play for the western new york flash. they deserve our recognition. thanks to abby and alex and the entire team and making all western new yorkers and america proud. i'd like to note they work together as a team. on behalf of america. i think there's some lessons that we should take from these inspiring women. i would be very proud to welcome them to our capital and give them a tour of this distinguished body. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, we received word yesterday that the president has

threatened to veto the bill. we will consider later today, h.r. 2560, the cut, cap, and balance act. as a co-sponsor of this bill, i can't disagree more. we have a spending problem not a revenue problem. for the president to threaten to veto a searo proposal that will put our country back on the path to fiscal responsibility demonstrates his stubborn insistence on continuing reckless spending and debt. mr. walberg: if the president wants to continue in this regard, the voice of the people, then he will veto this bill despite never presenting a plan of his own. the president will do what he chooses to do, but i will do what the people and our nation's future demand. unless we want to face even longer term economic difficulties, the president should reconsider his position and support this plan that cuts spending and encourages job growth. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. yarmuth: request permission

to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for one minute. mr. yarmuth: thank you. mr. speaker, we have heard of rallies across the country over the last couple years, we want to take our country back. today when we are voting on the so-called cut, cap, and balance act we now know where they want to take our country back to. 1966. that was when the spending levels would be required if we pass cut, cap, and balance. there are a lot of cool things about 1966. gas was 25 cents a gallon. average car cost about $3,400. a new car, home, was $20,000. and eggs were 55 cents a dozen. it would be nice if we could pay those prices again. it would be nice if our seniors who are cared for by doctors an hospitals could rely on that kind of 1966 pricing. unfortunately they can't. so what cut, cap, and balance would really mean is slash, shred, and punish. slash the budget, shred the safety net, and punish the

american citizens who can least afford it all while protecting the wealthiest, most successful, and the specially treated people in this country. millionaires, billionaires, oil companies, and giant corporations. i urge all of our colleagues to reject the reckless republican agenda known as cut, cap, and balance. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, as i talked to residents of the 23rd congressional district of texas that i have the privilege to represent, the top concern about which i hear is the need to create jobs. mr. canseco: for two years president obama and washington liberals attempted to spend and borrow our way to a better economy. it simply didn't work. trillions of dollars later, all we have is a national debt that every american household has of over $120,000 of its share.

and 29 straight months of unemployment at 8% or higher. the longest streak since the great depression. there is another way to create jobs, pass the pending free trade agreements with colombia, panama, and south korea. according to the business round table, these three agreements alone will create more than 250,000 jobs. at a time when over 14 million americans are unemployed, it's time to put the politics aside and pass these three job creating agreements. mr. flores: the time has come to pass the colombia, panama, and south korea free trade agreements. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. johnson: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. cut, cap, and balance is not a

jobs bill, it's a job-killing bill. it's a new way of trying to ramrod the ryan budget proposal down our throats. it's the ryan budget with lipstick. and it's really just slash and burn politics with a new face. today the republicans will vote unanimously for this draconian slash and burn ryan budget plan that they now call cut, cap, and balance. for the third time the republicans will vote unanimously to cut medicare and change social security to a voucher program that puts our seniors at the mercy of the for-profit insurance companies. and that's real. we need jobs and economic growth. not cut, cap, and balance. which is, again, just slash and burn politics. ryan budget proposal with

lipstick. that's the real deal. that's realer than real deal holyfield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. our nation is facing a debt crisis that threatens our economy, national security, and our children's future. this administration continues to borrow and spend money we don't have. they just don't get it. our debt crisis is not because of taxing too little, but a result of washington spending too much. in pushing the bill the american people both now and future generations. our children will owe approximately 45,000 to our creditors. and that's unacceptable. i know folks back home in ohio and across this nation are tightening their own belts and must live within their means. it is time that the federal government does the same with the americans' hard-earned tax dollars. the solution begin was cut, cap,

and balance bill. cut spending now, live within our means by capping future spending, and move towards a balanced budget amendment. mr. president, we have a debt crisis and it's time for a plan now. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida seek recognition? ms. brown: one minute to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. brown: last week in the debate on disaster relief fund, a republican called the stimulus bill a disaster. i wonder if the victims of disaster such as the b.p. spill or hurricane katrina would agree. let's compare? katrina destroyed about 400,000 jobs and caused $100 billion in damage. the stimulus bill gave $237 billion in streaks to 95% of the american workers. according to the c.b.o., the stimulus bill saved or created, 3.3 million jobs this year alone. does that sound like a disaster,

mr. speaker? we are still carrying losses from the b.p. oil spill, but we know companies like b.p. get $4 billion in tax subsidy every year. that's what i call a disaster. on the other hand, the stimulus bill saved over 400,000 jobs. over 6,000 of those educational jobs in louisiana and 48,000 in florida. does that sound like a disaster to you? today i place in the congressional record the latest breakdown of the education and jobs saved by the stimulus. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from west virginia seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from west virginia is recognized for one minute. mr. mckin lon-ily: thank you, mr. -- mr. mckinley: thank you, mr. chairman. the size of our debt inhabits the creation of jobs. jobs needed in west virginia and

across america. but there is a plan to correct this. the cut, cap, and balance act which i'm co-sponsoring lays out a clear and responsible vision for solving our debt limit crisis. president obama must realize that his request to raise the debt ceiling without fundamental spending reforms is a nonstarter. i won't deny that the president inherited a bad economic situation. but he made it worse. his failed stimulus program, the job killing costs of obamacare, and billions of dollars added to our country's spending through expanded programs have all contributed to the trillion dollars of debt -- new debt we are faced with today. it's time to get serious and solve the problem. we have a plan. let's pass cut, cap, and balance today. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from wisconsin seek recognition? >> to speak for one minute and revise and extend my remarks.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from wisconsin is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. you have heard the so-called experts predict the economic consequences of default of the debt. ms. moore: your question is, what does this have to do with me? gwen, can you tell me what this means in plain english? the federal reserve analysis the default would cause don't increases in treasury yields. every point increase means the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. your job. the economists, said a 1% change in g.d.p. growth correlates with .4% total employment change. translation, every percentage loss of g.d.p. means 640,000 lost jobs. your jobs. default permanently raises the interest rates says j.p. morgan, and they estimate that interest rates could rise 75 to 100 basis

points. translation? mortgages rise $1,000. credit card interest rise by $250. and the decline of the value of the dollar. translation? $182 extra on your utilities. $318 a year on food. $100 a year more on gas. do you get it? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from colorado is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i just got off the phone with a constituent of mine, tom abbott, small business business man. cares about his family, his business, people he works with. mr. tipton: he asked a simple question. i have to live within my budget. why doesn't washington? the plan that we have put

forward would take over a 10-year period, capping the spending at 18%. as americans, i think we need to ask the question, have we had an 18% increase in our family budgets year over year? i think the answer is no. i'd like to quote for you some of the president's plan to deal with the economic challenges that we face. there is not one. the silence is deafening. my friends, the american people expect more. the american people deserve better. washington does not have an income problem, it has a spending problem. and the time for us to speak on behalf of the american people is now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii seek recognition? without objection, the

gentlelady from hawaii is recognized for one minute. ms. hanabusa: thank you, mr. speaker. july is month to celebrate birthdays. the independence of this nation and the 46th birthday of medicare. medicare is the best health care program ever. and the most successful anti-poverty program. so the question that we should all be asking ourselves is, why, then, do the republicans want to do away with medicare as we know it? and the answer probably is, because we have forgotten what medicare was meant to do. . prior to 196544% of our seniors -- 1965 44% of our seniors had no health care. now 40 million are enrolled. before 1965 40% of those 65 and older were at or below the poverty level. now only 10% fall in that category. life expectancy was 70.2 years.

now it is 78.2 years of age. so we should ask ourselves, why, why do we want to touch medicare as we know it? medicare has done what we need it to do. happy birthday, medicare, and thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. hensarling: mr. speaker, every day in my district in texas i hear from small business people who tell me, i'm afraid to hire new workers because i think this national debt will end up bankrupting my business, not to mention my country. the american people are saying to washington, quit spending money we don't have. and so today house republicans

will bring to the floor the cut, cap and balance plan, cut federal spending at least back to its 2008 levels. who's going around saying government wasn't big enough before barack obama came here? cap it. let's make sure that our government doesn't grow beyond our ability to pay for it. and then balance. small businesses, families, states, everyone has to balance their budget except for the federal government? is there any mystery why we have $14 trillion of debt? there is no other credible plan on the table that avoids default and solves the problem. the senate, 800 days, no budget. the president, he gives us a speech, not a plan. and the only thing he's put on the table is more job-killing tax increases on small businesses. mr. speaker, that doesn't work. it's time for cut, cap and balance. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? ms. clarke: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent for a minute.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. mr. clarke: mr. speaker, i'm asking this congress to cut the true tax that's really crushing americans, that's preventing real job growth and robbing our people of financial security. i'm asking this congress on certain loans to cut mortgages down to home values. for certain student loan borrowers, let's forgive those student loans. this congress is responsible for the american people being in the debt that they're in. we deregulated many financial institutions that recklessly put the american people in debt. the one powerful way to restore our economy, to create jobs is to make sure that americans personally are debt free. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from new york seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from

new york is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, it is with great sadness that i wish to inform the house of representatives that on june 30, 2011, marine corporal kyle snyder of phoenix, new york, was killed by an improvised explosive device while serving in helmand province, afghanistan. corporal snyder was born in syracuse and lived in new york for most of his life. he was a graduate of baker high school and attended a community college for a year before enlisting in the marine corps in 2008. corporal snyder is survived by his parents, richard and lori snyder, a brother, kevin, and a fiance, teresa lynn dodge of west columbia, texas. corporal snyder was a proud and valiant marine. but he was also a son, a brother, a grandson, fiance, friend and comrade. he will be greatly missed and no words will diminish the grief of

those who knew and loved him. in his death he has earned the the -- the thanks of a grateful nation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. wake up, america. we're going to be voting today on a bill that has never seen a committee hearing, it's never been the subject of a markup in any committee and there are going to be no amendments to this bill. the republicans are calling this their cut, cap and balance bill but in reality it's gut, gap and handcuff. gut. there is no way to get to their numbers of deficit reduction without seriously gutting medicare, social security and medicaid. mr. braley: no way. gap. their policies are going to further widen the income gap

between middle class america and the richest americans by perpetuating a policy that has allowed that to exist for the last 10 years. and handcuff. you would be speaking german, japanese or russian if this balanced budget amendment was in effect during world war ii and during the cold war. because during world war ii we had debt in this country that was 120% of our g.d.p. and in the dawn of the cold war it was 100% of our g.d.p. that's why this bill doesn't make sense for america and i urge my colleagues to reject it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, today the house will vote to enact a cut, cap and balance plan to put an end to the spending driven debt that has crippled our economy. there's been a lot of talk about getting our fiscal house in

order. while some in washington would like to simply fix the front yard, fix up the front yard, today's proposal will give our fiscal house a new foundation and fundamentally reform the way our government spends money. this plan incorporates real spending cuts today, places limits on federal spending for coming years and advances a balanced budget amendment to address our debt crisis and kick start our economy. the bottom line is that we have to reduce our spending and start living within our means. this is not just a problem for the future, it is hurting job creation today. we must focus on establishing an environment that will help create jobs. the cut, cap and balance plan does just that. i yield back the balance of my time. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair will receive a message.

the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to infor other purposes the house that the senate has passed -- inform the house that the senate has passed h.con.res. 25, in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. mr. speaker, i am pleased to join my colleagues today to address h.r. 2560, the cut, cap and balance act. mr. payne: house republicans are bringing to the floor h.r. 2560 which is another attempt to enact the policies and betterment of their budget resolution. however there act is more extreme because it mandates that the house and senate approve constitutional amendment imposing their political philosophy. while house democrats have

pushed for a balanced approach to minimize the deficit, republican members have pushed forward with plans to end medicare in order to preserve tax breaks for special interests, big oil and corporations, to transport jobs abroad. throughout the process of negotiations, house democrats have focused on protecting medicare, strengthening the middle class and creating jobs. america's middle class and seniors will suffer the most as the g.o.p. continues to stand in the way of a reasonable balanced deficit reduction agreement. the national unemployment rate is down to 9.1%, however 8.8 million jobs were lost and so i ask that we reject this bill coming up. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, 49 states do it,

counties do it, cities do it, now it's time for the federal government to do it and to pass a balanced budget amendment. it is about passing a balanced budget amendment and getting this nation back on track to meet our obligations, our spending obligations, but also to match it with what we bring in and collect in taxes and revenues. mr. speaker, it's time for a balanced budget amendment. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from colorado is recognized for one minute. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. what's being talked about today in terms of inserting language into our united states constitution that constrains fiscal policy is nothing more or nothing less than a perversion of our democratic republic. it would take a major power away from the people of this country and replace it with an arbitrary

percentage, 18%, 19.7%, whatever that percentage is that they proposed to put into the constitution as a percentage of g.d.p. to spend on government takes a basic power away from the people, to elect representatives to have those discussions. that's what we're here for. should it be 18%, 22%, 19%, 15%, let's debate that, let the house and let the people of this country work their will. to put that into the united states constitution in an arbitrary figure without a single hearing, without a single discussion besides one hour of debate here on the floor of the house is a perversion of the very constitution we began this session by reading into the record of the house. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. over the last few months we've heard a lot of speeches about fiscal responsibility. today here on the house of representatives floor we're going to give members of congress the opportunity to put their money where their mouth

is. the cut, cap and balance plan opposes real cuts to spending today. mr. scalise: it puts caps on future growth and it says that we're going to put an amendment in the constitution that requires the federal government to do what states and families do and that's actually balance the budget. and yet yesterday the president comes out and says he would veto this plan. well, of course this is a president who said blames other people for the problems in washington, who makes you think that it's the corporate jet owners who are going to balance the budget. this is a real proposal that actually gets us back to balanced budget and the president i think has shown that he's not serious about addressing the problem of out-of-control spending. it's not that we're taxed too little in this country, it's that washington spends too much. and cut, cap and balance actually addresses the problem and puts fiscal sanity back in washington where it's desperately needed. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> mr. speaker, by direction of the committee of the rules, i call up house resolution 355 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 53. house resolution 355, resolved that upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill h.r. 2560, to cut, cap and balance the federal budget. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. the bill shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening motion except, one, four hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on the budget and, two, one motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from georgia is recognized for one hour. >> i thank you, mr. speaker, and for the purposes of debate only, i would yield the customary 30 minutes to mr. mcgovern, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. woodall: also, mr. speaker, during consideration of this resolution all time is yielded for the purpose of debate only. and i'd like to ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. woodall: mr. speaker, house resolution 355 provides a closed rule for consideration of h.r. 2560, the cut, cap and balance act of 2011. the rule provides for four hours of general debate on the underlying bill and grants the minority party a motion to recommit with or without instructions. mr. speaker, we're at a moment in our nation's history when i turn on the television, when i read the newspapers, i get a lot of advice, folks say, act, act to raise the debt ceiling, act to cut spending, act to balance the budget.

mr. speaker, today we are here to do all of those things. all of those things. cut, cap, balance. and with it, increase the debt ceiling in order to allow this country to continue its good line of credit, but, mr. speaker, that line of credit's not something we can take for granted. it is not something that we can take for granted. too often i hear folks come forward and say, just raise the debt ceiling. as you know, mr. speaker, we've had that vote. we brought a clean debt limit vote to the floor and i would say for the sake of all the young people we're blessed to have here in the gallery with us today, mr. speaker, we voted no. we defeated that clean debt ceiling to say no, we cannot simply extend america's line of credit, with he must take action to bend that curve of debt. . that was this houses acting. last week america's credit rating agencies joined in that debate. i read to you, mr. speaker, from moody's last week.

while the debt ceiling has been raised numerous times in the past, and the issue sometimes has been contentious, bond interest and principal payments have always been paid on time. if the debt limit is raised again and default is avoided, triple-a rating would likely be confirmed. that's what we hear all too often, mr. speaker. what we don't hear is the second sentence. however, the outlook assigned at that time would very likely be changed to negative unless a substantial and credible agreement is achieved on a budget that includes long-term deficit reduction. to retain a stable outlook, such an agreement should include a deficit trajectory that leads to stabilization and in decline in the ratios of federal government debt to g.d.p. mr. speaker, that may be a lot of bond analyst speak, but what that means in simple terms is, if we do nothing, as a nation,

our credit rating will be downgraded. and if we simply raise the debt limit and do nothing to get a ham on our debt -- handle on our debt, our credit rating will also be downgraded. that's moody's, mr. speaker. s&p writes the same thing last week. we view an inability to timely agree and credibly implement median term fiscal consolidation policy as inconsistent with a triple-a sovereign rating. given the expected government debt trajectory noted above. mr. speaker, that's what we are talking about today. just cutting doesn't get it done. we've got some debt limit issues that we've got to deal with. just capping doesn't get it done. we still got some debt limit issues we got to deal with. just balancing doesn't get it done, we still got debt limit issues we have to deal with. but, mr. speaker, just raising the debt limit doesn't get it

done, either. it requires cutting. it requires capping. it requires balancing. and it requires raising the debt limit. we have brought that resolution to the floor today. mr. speaker, while so many other folks in this town are content to talk, to pontificate, to share their wisdom with absolutely any television camera who will listen, this house moves forward legislation that describes line by line by line in painful detail what we will do to restore america's fiscal house. i'm proud to be a co-sponsor of this legislation. i'm proud to be a member of the rules committee that has reported this rule to the floor today. i rise in strong support of this rule, mr. speaker. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from georgia, my friend, mr. woodall, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. i ask unanimous consent to

revise and extend my remarks. i yield myself five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: i rise in strong opposition to this closed rule and even stronger opposition to the underlying bill. this is a closed rule. my friend from georgia, mr. woodall, was on the floor last week telling us how excited he was as we debated a modified open rule for a flood insurance bill. my friend talked about how you proud he was of the open process that allowed members to offer germane amendments to the bill. but here we are today considering legislation that would fundamentally transform the united states economy, gut many of the programs like social security and medicare that millions of americans rely upon. and make radical changes to the constitution. and the republican majority of the rules committee has brought it to the floor under a closed rule. no hearings. no witnesses. no markups.

no nothing. this bill was cobbled together last friday night and rushed to the floor just a few days later. i wonder if my friend from georgia is just as excited about this process because i'm sure not. last night in the rules committee, i offered my friend on the other side of the aisle the opportunity to put their votes where their rhetoric is and support an open rule. they chose to vote no. every single republican member on the rules committee voted no. as for the underlying legislation, mr. speaker, i can't quite figure out if this is a meaningless exercise in political theater or actual expression of republican values. frankly i can't figure out which is worse. if it's theater, it would get lousy reviews. both the white house and senate have made it very clear that they have no interest in supporting this bill. it's not going anywhere. maybe it's just a rotten piece of red meat the republican

leadership is throwing to our right-wing base in anticipation of an actual agreement to raise the debt ceiling and cut the deficit. if so, it's a complete waste of this body's time. but as the republican leadership means what they said, that they would like this bill to become the law of the land, it's a frightening prospect. this legislation would result in staggering cuts to programs like social security, medicare, medicaid, pell grants, medical research, and infrastructure. all while protecting tax cuts for the very wealthiest americans and corporations. the bill would require us to cut federal spending as a percentage of g.d.p. to a level not seen since 1965. and we had a very interesting discussion in the rules committee last night about the significance of that date. one of my republican colleagues noted that 1965 was the time when we enacted some of our, quote, so-called anti-poverty programs, end quote. and she's exactly right, mr.

speaker. apparently the republican leadership would like to take america back to a time before medicare. before medicaid, before food stamps, and school lunches. before meals on wheels and head start and pell grants. if that's their vision for america, mr. speaker, they should have the guts to stand on the floor and say so. but it's not my vision. it's not the vision of the people i represent in massachusetts. it's not the vision of the american people who believe that in the richest society in the history of the world we have an obligation to make sure that the most vulnerable among us don't fall through the cracks. at the same time, this bill would go out of its way to enshrine in the constitution of the united states to protect tax cuts and loopholes for the richest 1% of americans. under this bill, congress would need a mere majority to slash medicare, but would need a supermajority to close a loophole that gives preferential treatment to owners of corporate jets.

talk about picking winners and losers, mr. speaker. in the ongoing budget negotiations, the republican leadership of this house have said that they will absolutely not consider raising any revenues to address the deficit and the debt. but, listen to this, according to news reports they are willing to force seniors receiving medicare home health care to fork over new co-pays. so with an elderly woman in worcester, massachusetts, with diabetes has to pay more for a vissutting nurse, the republicans say, so be it. but hetch forbid that oil companies making billions and billions of dollars in profits have to pay their fair share. maybe they'll call those new co-pays user fees so grover norquist and the club for growth will give them a pass. but tell the woman in worcester, who will be forced to go into a nursing home, her taxes will go up. this is an awful bill brought to the floor under an awful process. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject this cynical effort and get back

to work and meaningfully address the budget issues facing this nation. time is running out. we need to get to work to seriously resolve this crisis. reject this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time is reserved. the gentleman from georgia. mr. woodall: i'm confused about time running out and moving too quickly. with that i yield to the gentleman from florida, mr. new gent. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. nugent: thank you, mr. speaker. and thank my fell rules committee gentleman from georgia. i rise in support of the rule, h.res. 355 and the underlying legislation, h.r. 2560. mr. speaker, there's no way to get around it. washington has a spending addiction. the unchecked out-of-control spending has gone on for decades. regardless of what party controlled the white house or congress, washington spent,

spent, and spent some more. and although throughout this campaign president obama promised a net spending cut, that hasn't happened. in fact, he's kept on spending and adding trillions of dollars to our debt and that's why we are in the situation we are today. debating raising our debt ceiling once again. mr. speaker, i don't want to raise the debt ceiling. instead i want our nation to get real with the spending and make some changes. h.r. 2560 isn't the easy choice, but it's the right choice. and that's why i'm co-sponsor of this critical piece of legislation. h.r. 2560 raises the debt ceiling, something i'm willing to say most of my republican colleagues and i decidedly do not want to do. in return, though, h.r. 2560

implements spending cuts for this year and caps for the next 10 years. but we all know statutory budget cuts from the past congresses don't mean an awful lot. which is why h.r. 2560 also calls for congress to send and pass a -- to the states a balanced budget amendment. such an amendment would really hold washington's feet to the fire. it would mean the u.s. constitution prohibits the federal government from spending more than it collects. now that, mr. speaker--may i have -- mr. woodall: yield an additional 30 seconds. mr. nugent: that, mr. speaker, is a balanced budget amendment to the united states constitution, that's real action. the real change in the accountability in government that america needs and deserves. mr. speaker, we need a balanced budget amendment.

the president has yet to send to this body anything in writing. all we received is a speech and rhetoric. we need to move this country forward. we need a balanced budget amendment. we need to pass h.r. 2560. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from colorado, a member of the rules committee, mr. polis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for three minutes. mr. polis: i thank the gentleman from massachusetts for the time. mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill before us. mr. speaker, i support a balanced budget amendment. but what the majority has brought before the house is not even close to a balanced budget amendment. this is a political exercise designed to soothe the feelings of the most radical conservative elements in the house and debases our constitution and democracy in the process. cut, cap, and balance is is preliminary -- is simply an attempt to distort the nature of

our democratic republic, reducing the ability of congress to represent the will of the voters of this country and rendering elections and the public will meaningless. if we are going to enact a balanced budget amendment, it should be modeled after the type of approach that most states have. states have to balance their budget. families have to balance their budget. why shouldn't the united states congress? like many people on my side of the aisle, i could support language that would require and enshrine the total outlays do not exceed total receipts. that's what it means to balance a budget. as families and businesses across america know. instead, the proposal before the house is a recipe for tying the nation's budget policy in knots and handing power over the budget process to a minority of the house members or un-elected federal judges. it would make the entire congress cease to function as a representative body. by locking them into certain percentages, arbitrary percentages that were set without a single hearing or any process in our united states

constitution as the public expenditure share of g.n.p. if you require a supermajority for the smallest increase in revenue, you ensure that all the major pieces of legislation that congress has passed would never have passed. if this amendment were in place in 1965, congress never would have passed medicare. in 1993 we wouldn't have passed mr. clinton's -- president clinton's deficit reduction. furthermore, the spending caps the bill sets are arbitrary. they are pulled out of thin air. they bear no relations to our national need now our or in the nigh ture. a balanced budget amendment must treat outlays and revenues equally, not biased one or the other in the constitution itself, our fundamental governing document. the majority is not only learning the realities of basic math, they are turning their backs on the pledges of open process. this bill was brought to the floor rapidly through rules floor rapidly through rules committee yesterday without a